The Monkey King is one of the main characters in the ancient Chinese literary masterpiece Journey to the West. "Journey to the West" is a god and demon created by Ming Dynasty writer Wu Chengen**. In this **, Monkey King is portrayed as a smart, witty, brave and fearless monkey.
Although the image of Monkey King is fictional, there have been doubts about whether he is real for a long time.
Pu Songling of the Qing Dynasty told the folk story of Sun Wukong in Fujian in the "Monkey King" chapter of "Strange Tales of Liao Zhai", and it is said that there are temples dedicated to him in Fujian and other places.
In addition, in 1953, archaeologists discovered the Yulin Grottoes about 100 kilometers east of the Mogao Grottoes, and the age of the Yulin Grottoes was confirmed to be between the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty. In the cave, there are murals about the blessings of the merchants of the Silk Road, and in one of the murals, there is a small man with a golden hoop on his head, leading a horse. This little man with a golden hoop looks similar to the image of the Monkey King.
In any case, it has not been confirmed whether the Monkey King really exists, but his image is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and has become an important symbol in Chinese culture. His spiritual traits, such as tenacity, intelligence, bravery, etc., are widely recognized and admired.